Romans 14:1-13

¹Accept those who are still struggling to trust in God, and don't get into arguments over personal opinions.

²One person may believe they can eat anything, while another whose trust is weak only eats vegetables.

³Those who eat anything must not look down on those who won't, and those who won't eat must not criticize those who do—for God has accepted them both.

⁴What right do you have to judge someone else's servant? It's their own master who decides whether they are right or wrong. With the Lord's help they will be able to take their stand for right.

⁵Some people consider some days more important than others, while others consider each day the same. Everyone should be completely convinced in their own minds.

⁶Those who respect a special day do so for the Lord; and those who eat without worrying do so for the Lord since they give thanks to God; while those who avoid eating certain things do so for the Lord, and they also give thanks to God.

⁷None of us live for ourselves, or die for ourselves.

⁸If we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord—so whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

⁹This was the reason Christ died and came back to life—so that he could be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰So why do you criticize your fellow-believer? Why do you despise your fellow-believer? For all of us will stand before God's throne of judgment.

¹¹For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I am alive,’ the Lord says, ‘Every knee shall bow before me, and every tongue will declare that I am God.’”

¹²So every one of us will have to explain ourselves to God.

¹³Therefore let's not judge each other anymore, but decide to do this instead—we won't put obstacles in the way of fellow-believers, or cause them to fall.